The Dangers of Having Raccoons in Your House

Raccoons are common in our homes and can cause a lot of nuisance if not removed. People have always tried to resolve to humane ways of removing raccoons but simply failed. Preventing raccoons from entering your house in the first place is the best solution to a raccoon problem. If they manage to enter your house, there are several dangers that raccoons will pose to your family and everything close to it. Here are some of the dangers of having raccoons in your house;

Dangers to Household Pets

Raccoons normally carry a number of parasites on them. This can easily infect household pets such as dogs and cats. Your pets will be at risk of getting infected with rabies, mange, fleas, coccidiosis, distemper and leptospirosis. You need to protect the pets by making sure they are vaccinated against the mentioned diseases to prevent an infection. Also try and keep your outdoor pets indoors at night because that is when raccoons are active.

Dangers to Adults and Children

Sometimes when we try to remove raccoons ourselves and they become cornered, they will be offensive to protect themselves. This might result to biting or scratching of people. Their bites and scratches are potential sources of diseases such as rabies, parasites and even leptospirosis. Another common infection is roundworms as raccoons leave worm eggs whenever they pass. Children eat anything when you are not watching. Sometimes they may eat food infected by worm eggs and end up being sick so be on the lookout.

Dangers to Homes

Raccoons if not removed early might end up destroying your beautiful home. They normally like to build their nests in a warm, safe and sheltered place which means either attics or chimneys. Make sure access to such places are secured against wild animals. Their droppings and urine can make the house to have a foul smell all the time.